A. Muciniphila: The beneficial bacteria that protects gut lining

Our large intestine is home to trillions of bacteria, all of which have different roles to play in our body functions & protect us from diseases. 90% of bacteria are part of Firmicutes & Bacteroidetes phylum. Today we are going to discuss a beneficial bacteria- Akkermansia Muciniphila which is a part of Verrucomicrobia Phylum (3% to 5% of the bacterial community). This bacteria plays an essential role in preventing leaky gut & lives in harmony with our body. Our body & this beneficial bacteria have a codependent relationship. While, A. Muciniphila benefits from living in our gut, we also benefit from its existence. Living in our gut, this bacteria strengthens our gut barrier as well as keeps our immune system in check.

This bacteria thrives on the mucus layer of our gut lining & keeps us healthy. It is the only bacteria part of this Verrucomicrobia phylum found in human fecal samples. In healthy folks, this bacteria constitutes 4% of total microbial composition. In case of people suffering from irritable bowel syndrome & obesity, this bacteria is less abundant.

Since this bacteria has a vital role to play in protecting our gut lining & keeping us away from diseases such as IBD & Obesity, let us explore what this beneficial bacteria does in our gut.

The intestinal lining is made up of epithelial cells covered in a layer of mucus. Its basic function is to allow beneficial substances to enter the body & prevent opportunistic pathogens /microbes( & metabolites) from entering & making us ill. As such this mucus lining in the gut strengthens the gut barrier. The outer layer is home to bacteria while the inner lining is free of microbes. View this inner lining as a filter which acts as a barrier & prevents microbes from crossing this barrier & causing inflammation.The mucus lining is rich in protein called as mucin that creates gel coating. This is not only found in the large intestine but also other places such as lining of lungs & in fluids.

Akkermansia Muciniphila is in love with this protein(mucin) since it uses it for energy. The uniqueness of this bacteria is that it does not depend upon us to feed itself. Therefore by resorting to mucin, it can thrive even if it does not have nutrients to feed itself. This beneficial bacteria comes from breast milk & even formula fed milk too & hence it comes from our mother.

By eating mucins in our gut, Akkermansia Muciniphila encourages cells to make more that helps to keep our immune system in check. Akkermansia Muciniphila breaks down mucin & converts it into short chain fatty acids including acetate. This acetate is used by other bacteria phylum such as Firmicutes to make SCFA such as Butyrate that strengthens our gut linings & improves our satiety level. This is referred to as cross feeding. This production of Acetate keeps us fool & helps us to manage our weight.

By eating mucin in your gut lining & converting them in SCFA, Akkermansia Muciniphila strengthens our gut barrier function. This helps in preventing weight gain.

Intestinal mucus layer is lining between our body & microbes living in our gut. If this lining is disturbed, it can lead to inflammation. Abundance of Akkermansia Muciniphila is reduced in people suffering from diabetes( type 2), obesity & irritable bowel syndrome. Since in people suffering from these chronic diseases, Akkermansia Muciniphila is less in abundance, its role in gut barrier is all the more important. Increase in intestinal permeability is a featured characteristic of obesity & associated with reduced mucus thickness. Akkermansia Muciniphila can restore the mucus layer. This can be done through prebiotic feeding. By consuming certain fibres, abundance of Akkermansia Muciniphila can be increased. This increase will strengthen gut lining. 

Foods that can increase Akkermansia Muciniphila levels include polyphenols, antioxidants & rainbow vegetables such as flaxseeds, fish oil, grapes, cranberries & black tea. However what specific foods will feed our gut microbiome depends upon composition of our gut microbiota.

If you are suffering from obesity, type 2 diabetes or irritable bowel syndrome, less abundance of Akkermansia Muciniphila may be a spoil sport. Our up the gut solution uses functional microbial analysis to learn about your current gut microbiome composition & provides personalised nutrition recommendations to improve abundance of Akkermansia Muciniphila without getting into guess work.For details or free discovery call, please sign up here

Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6223323/